Water Additives for RO Water...

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mistern2005
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Water Additives for RO Water...

Post by mistern2005 »

Recently I’ve discovered that the reason my nitrate levels were high, even after a large water change, was because there is a substantial amount of nitrate in my tap water. I’ve decided to switch to RO water. However I am still somewhat confused as to what water additives I should use to reconstitute all the necessary minerals in the water and get the chemistry correct. Right now I am thinking I should use the following: (1) Seachem South American Cichlid Trace, (2) Seachem South American Cichlid Salt, and (3) Seachem South American Buffer. I know the combination of these three will replace the mineral content, and keep the pH at a reasonable level. However my main concern is that the kH/hardness will still be too low.

Does anyone have a good routine for preparing RO water? If you would please share it with me, I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks in advance…
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Post by Jojoyojimbi »

just add in some of your regular tap water and get a TDS meter to test it till it's what you want
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Alistair
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Post by Alistair »

It's what the used to do in days gone by!
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mistern2005
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Post by mistern2005 »

@ Jojo - thank you for the suggestion, however in my post I stated that adding tap water is NOT a good option due to the HIGH NITRATES present IN the tap water itself.

Again if anyone has good ideas about what additives would be good to get good chemistry and the proper minerals in RO water, please let me know. I'm specifically looking for good quality, popular water ADDITIVES that I can purchase. Thanks for the help.
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Post by Jojoyojimbi »

nitrAtes are a part of 99% of the waters on the world
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John
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Post by John »

@ mistern2005:

Filter your tapwater over a nitrate filter like this:

http://www.aquarientechnik-gralla.de/fo ... 1liter.jpg
Greetings,
John
[img]http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x276/hypancistrus-zebra/half.gif[/img]
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mistern2005
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Post by mistern2005 »

Jojo - I would agree that nitrates are found in just about all water sources, all over the world. I would also claim that just because nitrates are present doesn't necessarily mean detrimental effects to fish. However when the water out of the tap contains >50mg/L of nitrates (which is at a level detrimental to fish), massive water changes with tap water will not do much to lower nitrate levels in aquarium to a safe level.

John - I have RO water very conveniently available to me at a very low cost. Rather than try to filter water, add junk to remove all nasties, I'd rather start with RO water and add back in just the good stuff that's necessary.

Thus, the question still stands...can someone provide me the names of some ADDITIVES that I can use to get good chemistry and proper minerals into the RO water?
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Post by Zoban »

I could be wrong here but I think yer looking for something along this line..
Specially formulated mixture of dissolvable solids (also called general hardness or gh) which includes major salts of sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium together with all necessary minor and trace minerals, together with a small amount of carbonate.
Image
Here is product link at BigAls http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... ht250grams
[url=http://www.mentoria.on.ca/fish/images/HPIM0036.JPG]Zoban's Main Tank[/url]
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Post by Raul-7 »

mistern2005 wrote:Thus, the question still stands...can someone provide me the names of some ADDITIVES that I can use to get good chemistry and proper minerals into the RO water?
Where does the RO waste water go? I would use that since it already has everything you need, figure out the ratio you need depending on the parameters you want. For example, aim for a dGH of 5 and dKH of 4 and keep playing around untill you find the right mix of RO:waste. This route will save you a lot of money in the long run since you won't have to rely on any additives and the waste water is basically concentrated with all the ions you need. Shame to let it go to waste.

If you prefer the conveinient method, go with Seachem Equilibrium to raise your dGH. It's better than any of the other buffers they offer as a little goes a long way. Then you'll need to raise your dKH, baking soda should do the trick. Here's a useful calculator: http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/calKH.asp .
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Post by Plastic Mac »

I use Kent R/O right (as pictured above) and Kent pH stable. Works a treat. :D
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Post by Alistair »

@ Jojo - thank you for the suggestion, however in my post I stated that adding tap water is NOT a good option due to the HIGH NITRATES present IN the tap water itself.
I think what Jojo meant was add a small quantity back into the RO water. The Nitrate will be diluted along with the hardness and dissolved solids. This is what alot of breaders in the old east germany used to do and they had great success with discus, apistos., killies etc..............
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Post by mistern2005 »

Plastic Mac - So is the RO Right and PH stable all you use to reconstitute the RO water? If the answer is "yes" I won't ask how the fish like it....I've seen pictures of your fry!!!
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Post by crazie.eddie »

How high are your nitrate levels? How about creating a large tank for storing water and adding nitrate absorbing plants?
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Plastic Mac
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Post by Plastic Mac »

mistern2005 wrote:Plastic Mac - So is the RO Right and PH stable all you use to reconstitute the RO water? If the answer is "yes" I won't ask how the fish like it....I've seen pictures of your fry!!!
Yes that's all you need imo, of course there are other similar products which I am sure work just as well, but using these two is pretty simple and seems to work well lol. :D
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mistern2005
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Post by mistern2005 »

crazy.eddie - When I tested the water out of the tap the nitrates were off the chart....so it's hard to say exactly but I suppose it measured around 50mg/l. In the 10 gallon zebra tank I have one lone L46, two bolivian rams, two otos, and a bunch of hornwort. When I tested the nitrates in that tank they measured about 10mg/l - which I think isn't much to cry wolf about. However in my newly set up 34gal tank (where I ultimately want the zebra to go) the nitrates measured between 30mg/l -40mg/l and the other inhabitants are suffering from it. I think the fact that the 10gal zebra tank is so stable, has plants, and is very well established, it is able to handle the inital nitrate load from the tap water changes. The new tank doesn't have plants and isn't as well established thus it is having problems. I think the best solution is to use RO, get some plants, and give the bigger tank time to establish itself. That's why I'm curious about the RO additives! Also, go you have any good nitrate-removing plants to suggest???

PM - Thanks for your help. I think I am going to give it a shot!
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